Sunday, March 23, 2014

Finding My Way Home

When people told me about Wake Forest they said "that school is so beautiful" that "you must be really smart to get in" and that "it's really, really preppy." No one really told me how out scared I would feel, no one said that you may feel out of place, that people are cut-throat competitive, and that the place is nothing like home. When I thought about Wake Forest before I knew what the school would be like, I was so excited and I kept saying I just wanted to get out of my town, but move-in day something felt strange. I kept telling myself I should keep positive, things will turn up, but this school was nothing like my high school. I felt like if I weren't trying to get straight A's, becoming the president of my own club, or running a marathon on top of my 17 credit hours and extracurriculars, then I just wasn't working hard enough. All I wanted was to go home. I wanted to be surrounded by people who loved me. I thought I wanted to transfer.

Even though I practically left my house the last day of winter break in tears, I still came back. I decided to go through the week of hell, also know as sorority recruitment week, and I thought to myself that if I still didn't like it then I would just leave the school, no big deal.

There's this stigma that sororities are for the girly girls, the ones that only own Lilly Pulitzer and Lulu Lemon in their closet, and LOVE glitter. It's funny... When I was talking to a girl in theta she said "I am not really the sorority type of girl... In fact I really don't like the idea of them at all." I was shocked, but each girl I met from theta showed me that being yourself was actually okay for once. There was no "mold" that the Wake Forest Bubble had created for us, and if there were a "stereotype" it would be how none of us are the same product of society. I did not believe I would change my mind about this school, not that it is a bad place at all, the academics are challenging and I love it, but I am the sweatpants, hair pulled back, breaking a sweat at the gym kind of girl, and I was afraid I didn't fit in. But these girls are my home. They are silly, friendly, loving, and wonderful, and they are the original purpose of a sorority- to provide a safe haven for women when they need it.